More Than a Million GM Diesels Manufactured in Moraine

Although you can’t buy a GM car in the U.S. that’s equipped with a diesel engine, that is going to change next year, when a Chevrolet Cruze with a 2.0-liter turbo will be offered. When the diesel was announced earlier this year, Mike Weidman, Cruze marketing manager, said, “Small displacement diesel engines could fill an important niche in Chevrolet’s diverse four-cylinder lineup. We recognize this technology’s considerable appeal, particularly with young male car buyers, and we are ready to win them over with quality, torque and fuel economy.”

Arguably, GM has already won over a considerable number of truck buyers, as last Friday the company announced that the 1,500,000th Duramax 6.6-liter diesel engine was produced in Moraine, Ohio, at the DMAX Ltd. joint venture plant that GM operates with Isuzu Motors.

The Duramax V8 is available in the Chevy Silverado HD pickup and Express van, the GMC Sierra HD pickup and the Savanna van.

It has been available in vehicles since model year 2001.

The Moraine plant measures 584,000-sq. ft.; 517 people work there. (No announcement, incidentally, on where the Cruze 2.0-liter diesel will be built, although presently GM produces engines of this type in Germany, so. . . .)